Lesnar wrestled amateurly at Webster High School in Webster, South Dakota. Coached by John Schiley, he qualified for the state wrestling tournament several times, but was unable to get first place. Lesnar said those frustrating losses in high school probably fueled his rise to stardom.[citation needed]
Lesnar later attended the University of Minnesota on a full wrestling scholarship, where his roommate was fellow professional wrestler Shelton Benjamin who also served as Lesnar's assistant coach. Lesnar won the 2000 National Collegiate Athletic Association wrestling championship as a heavyweight after placing second in 1999. Prior to joining the Minnesota Golden Gophers, Lesnar also wrestled at Bismarck State College in Bismarck, North Dakota. After the successful end to his college career, Lesnar was offered tryouts in the NFL as well as being trained for the Olympics, but was more convinced by Vince McMahon and the WWF, who believed he could have the same success as Olympic Gold MedalistKurt Angle did, recalling his many trash-talkings of Iowa and other various schools. Surprising some, Lesnar chose WWF and was sent to its developmental territory, Ohio Valley Wrestling. Lesnar finished his amateur career as a four time all-American, two time big-ten Champion and the 2000 NCAA heavyweight champion with a record of 106-5 overall in four years of college.
World Wrestling Federation / Entertainment
After joining WWF development in 2000, Lesnar formed a tag team known as the Minnesota Stretching Crew with his former college roommate and assistant coach, Shelton Benjamin in its Ohio Valley Wrestling territory. It was there where Lesnar upped his weight to 295 chiseled pounds (he'd wrestled at 285 as an amateur). Lesnar and Benjamin won the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship on three occasions and together appeared in WWF magazines while still in OVW. Lesnar wrestled several dark matches in 2001 and 2002 before being called up to the main roster.
Main roster (2002-2004)
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Lesnar debuted on WWF television on the March 18, 2002 episode of WWF RAW, attacking Al Snow, Maven and Spike Dudley in the course of a match. He was accompanied by Paul Heyman, who was seen giving instructions to Lesnar. After the World Wrestling Federation was renamed World Wrestling Entertainment, Lesnar was drafted to the RAW brand of WWE. Later, Heyman was confirmed to be Lesnar's agent, and gave Lesnar the nickname "The Next Big Thing".
Lesnar's first feud was with the Hardy Boyz. Lesnar was seen giving Matt Hardy his signature F-5 on the steel ramp, which left an angered Jeff Hardy wanting revenge on Lesnar. The two squared off at Backlash 2002 in Lesnar's first official televised match. Lesnar dominated Hardy and won the match by knockout. The next night on Raw he faced Matt Hardy, defeating him in the same fasion. At Judgment Day 2002, Lesnar once again gained the upper hand on the Hardy Boyz tag team before tagging his partner, Heyman, in to take the win.
On July 22, 2002, Lesnar joined the SmackDown! brand. After an angle with Hulk Hogan, which saw Lesnar hand Hogan his most convincing defeat in history in August 2002, Lesnar began feuding with the Undisputed Champion The Rock.
At the main event of SummerSlam 2002, Lesnar defeated The Rock to become the new and final WWE Undisputed Champion. Lesnar, at age 25, was then the youngest WWE Champion ever (as of 2007, he is still technically the youngest WWE Champion ever, but Randy Orton is the youngest world champion in WWE history, having won the World Heavyweight Championship at 24). Due to the requirements of the WWE Undisputed Championship being defended on both shows, RAW general manager Eric Bischoff expected Lesnar to be able to return on RAW the next night. However, SmackDown! general manager Stephanie McMahon announced that Lesnar's contract required that he would defend the title only on SmackDown!, forcing Bischoff to separate the World Heavyweight Championship from the WWE Championship and in turn making the title lose its "Undisputed" name.
Lesnar's rapid rise to the top of WWE in 2002 led to a match between him and The Undertaker at Unforgiven 2002. It ended in a double disqualification leading to Lesnar retaining the title. The next month, at No Mercy 2002, in what some say is the Thrilla in Manila of wrestling and the match that "made" Brock Lesnar, he faced The Undertaker again, this time in a Hell in a Cell match. Hype leading up to the match (for the WWE Championship) was tremendous and intense as Lesnar with Heyman broke the Undertaker's hand with a propane tank. Despite Heyman begging Stephanie McMahon not to let The Undertaker use his cast as a weapon, the request was denied and the match went on as planned. It was a brutal match with both wrestlers "donning crimson masks" - their faces covered in thick blood (Undertaker's blood loss was particularly memorable, as he never stopped bleeding after he had bladed). Even Paul Heyman, who was outside of the cage, felt the Undertaker's wrath as Undertaker beat him up through holes in the cage. Sometime during the match Undertaker had grabbed Paul and pulled him back and forward into the cell. In return, Brock got Heyman to take his belt and tie it around the cast of the Undertaker and hold it against the cell while Brock hit the cast numerous times with a chair until Heyman's belt broke. At a certain point, after Undertaker had taken advantage of his cast, Lesnar gained control and removed the cast, leaving Undertaker's broken hand at his mercy. This would prove to be the turning point of the match. The match ended when Lesnar reversed an attempted Tombstone into his F-5 for the win. After the match, Lesnar climbed to the top of the cell and held his title up high for all to see. Six days after his Hell in a Cell match with The Undertaker, Lesnar successfully retained his WWE title in a Handicap match with Heyman at the Rebellion 2002 pay-per-view against Edge.
Lesnar's next opponent was The Big Show. Heyman was convinced more than anyone that Lesnar couldn't win, trying to talk him out of defending the title. Lesnar refused, and went on to lose the championship in Madison Square Garden at the Survivor Series 2002 pay-per-view to The Big Show in 4 minutes when, after giving an F-5 to the 500-pounder, he was betrayed by Heyman. This was Lesnar's first pinfall loss in WWE.
Following Survivor Series, Heyman made it clear that Lesnar would not get a rematch, even going so far as to sneak a special clause in his contract. Prior to entering the Royal Rumble on January 19, 2003, Lesnar faced The Big Show in a qualification match where the winner could enter the Rumble and the loser could not. Despite interference from Paul Heyman, Lesnar defeated The Big Show with an F-5. He entered the Rumble as the #29 entrant where he would win by eliminating The Undertaker last.
After winning the 2003 Royal Rumble match in January 2003, Lesnar spent the next two months feuding with Kurt Angle. Angle had Paul Heyman and Team Angle (Shelton Benjamin, Lesnar's former partner, and Charlie Haas) behind him, but Lesnar overcame these opponents. The match between Lesnar and Angle going into WrestleMania XIX proved a historical moment as it marked the first time in WWE history that two accomplished amateur wrestlers (Angle with his Olympic gold medal and two NCAA Heavyweight Championships, Lesnar with his 2000 NCAA Heavyweight Championship) met in a ring. Lesnar regained the WWE Championship in the main event of WrestleMania XIX from Kurt Angle. Toward the end of the match, he botched a Shooting Star Press; despite having landed the move successfully several times in OVW, in this match he overestimated the distance he was capable of jumping for the move and under-rotated, slamming his head into Angle's side and ribcage. This stunned Lesnar and forced Angle to improvise the finish of the match. Lesnar suffered a severe concussion from the botched move.
Following Wrestlemania, John Cena had begun targeting Lesnar for almost ending his career (by using the F-5 to propel his leg into a ring post) after a previous match between the two. This led to Cena receiving a title match at Backlash 2003. Lesnar successfully retained his title against Cena. Earlier at the Backlash pay-per-view an incident took place where The Big Show in a match with Rey Mysterio, injured Mysterio badly resulting in Mysterio being carried out on a Stretcher. This incident led to Lesnar renewing his feud with Big Show, which led to a Stretcher match at Judgment Day 2003 for the title. Lesnar successfully retained his title with help from Rey Mysterio and a forklift. While continuing his feud with Big Show, Lesnar also feuded with the Full Blooded Italians and the World's Greatest Tag Team, and was also involved in a famous SmackDown! moment when he lifted Big Show over in a Superplex which caused the ring to collapse on impact.[2] At Vengeance 2003 Lesnar lost his title to Kurt Angle in a No DisqualificationTriple Threat match that also involved Big Show.
At SummerSlam 2003, Lesnar (this time a heel) lost to Kurt Angle in their rematch when Angle made Lesnar tap out to the Ankle lock. Angle was the first (of two wrestlers) to gain a submission victory over Lesnar. Chris Benoit was the only other wrestler to make Lesnar tap out at Survivor Series 2003 (this, however, was a ten person elimination tag team match). Lesnar did face Benoit in singles bout 2 weeks later after Survivor Series for the WWE title on SmackDown! Lesnar won after Benoit passed out to Lesnar's debuting Brock Lock submission hold.
The second rematch between Lesnar and Angle was an Iron Man Match. Lesnar defeated Angle with five falls to four, making him a 3-time WWE Champion. The match, overall, was considered their best and it won PWI Match of the Year honors for 2003. Angle and Lesnar also won Feud of the Year honors for their war over the WWE Championship and their matches at WrestleMania, Vengeance and SummerSlam, as well as the Iron Man Match on SmackDown!
Lesnar's first challenger for his newly won title was The Undertaker. Lesnar had previously cost Undertaker the title in a match against the then champion Kurt Angle, this granted him a shot at Lesnar's title. At No Mercy 2003, Lesnar defeated Undertaker in a Biker Chain match, making it his second straight successful No Mercy WWE Title match against Undertaker.
Lesnar realigned himself with Paul Heyman after Heyman became general manager of Smackdown!, and formed Team Lesnar (Lesnar, Big Show, Matt Morgan, A-Train and Nathan Jones), the largest faction ever combined. Lesnar also had a brief feud with Hardcore Holly. In this storyline, Holly wanted revenge on Lesnar for (legitimately) breaking his neck during a previous match between the two in 2002. During that match, Brock went for a powerbomb, but Holly, believed by some to be uncooperative with rookies, supposedly sandbagged mid-lift so that Lesnar couldn't get him all the way up.[3] Holly compounded the difficulty of the move by not lifting up at the waist. During the struggle, Lesnar (intentionally or unintentionally) planted Holly on his head, leaving him in need of neck surgery and out of action for a year. Lesnar never apologized and even showed insult to injury after the incident. The feud was closed when Lesnar defeated Holly in 6 minutes to retain the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble 2004. In February he faced Eddie Guerrero for the title at No Way Out 2004 in a match where Guerrero was the underdog as Lesnar at this time had become an unstoppable beast. Lesnar kept overpowering Guerrero, constantly taunting him and telling him that he is nothing. Even the commentators stated that Guerrero didn't seem to have a chance of winning the title. However Bill Goldberg interfered and attacked Lesnar, allowing Guerrero to win the WWE title.
Before losing the WWE Championship to Guerrero, Lesnar had begun a feud with RAW's Goldberg. A match between the two had been highly anticipated from Lesnar's debut, due to their similar physique and their undefeated streak; Goldberg with his impressive well over 100 victories and only six official singles defeats in his WCW career, and Lesnar with his 106 wins and only five losses in his amateur career in college, not to mention their undefeated streak in WWE. Lesnar even received loud Goldberg chants by the crowd in some of his early matches and was even compared to Goldberg already in his amateur career in college, as the Goldberg of the Minnesota Gophers. The feud began at Survivor Series 2003, when both men were champions of their respective brands. Lesnar claimed in a backstage interview that he could beat anybody in the world, then Goldberg interrupted the interview and introduced himself to Lesnar, shaking hands with him before leaving with a staredown. At the Royal Rumble, Lesnar and Goldberg once again got into a backstage confrontation, this time it was Lesnar interrupting an interview, Goldberg ended up referring to Lesnar a coward. Later in the rumble match, Lesnar attacked Goldberg and delivered an F-5, enabling Kurt Angle to eliminate him. On Smackdown! Lesnar mocked Goldberg. On Raw Goldberg was determined to get revenge on Lesnar. At No Way Out, Goldberg showed up and got into a brawl with Lesnar, which ended with Goldberg reversing an attempted F-5 into his Jackhammer and getting escorted out of the building by security. Later in Lesnar's match against Guerrero, while the referee was down, Goldberg showed up again and Speared Lesnar, allowing Guerrero to capitalize and pin Lesnar after a Frog splash to win the WWE title. This set up an interbrand match for WrestleMania XX between Lesnar and Goldberg.
During the feud with Bill Goldberg, Lesnar also was feuding with RAW's Stone Cold Steve Austin (who was shown suggesting to Goldberg that he attack Lesnar at No Way Out). When Lesnar attacked Austin on Raw and stole his four-wheeler, Austin was inserted as the Special Guest Referee for the WrestleMania match. Behind the scenes, it was widely known that the match would be Goldberg's last in WWE, however only a week before WrestleMania, rumours surfaced Lesnar too was leaving, in order to pursue a career in the National Football League. As a result, Lesnar's dream match with Goldberg became a fiasco as the fans at Madison Square Garden jeered both wrestlers with very loud and distinct chants of "na na, hey hey goodbye" and "you sold out." Neither man was thought to have given his best effort in the match in what was supposed to be a clash of titans, and crowd support was mostly given to special referee Austin. Lesnar was said to be particularly shaken by this reaction and after another goodbye chant by the crowd after the match, he gave them (as well as Austin) the finger. Because both men were leaving WWE, it was clear that the only man who would go over in the match would be Austin. Although Goldberg won the match, both men were given a Stone Cold Stunner by Austin on their way out.
National Football League
After his final match at WrestleMania XX, Lesnar did in fact sideline his career in WWE to pursue a career in the National Football League.[4] This move upset many in WWE, as the company had invested heavily in Lesnar. World Wrestling Entertainment confirmed Lesnar's departure on their official website WWE.com by the statement
Brock Lesnar opts to put WWE career on hold
Brock Lesnar has made a personal decision to put his WWE career on hold to prepare to tryout for the National Football League this season. Brock has wrestled his entire professional career in the WWE and we are proud of his accomplishments and wish him the best in his new endeavor.
Lesnar later told a Minnesota radio show that he had three wonderful years in WWE, but had grown unhappy and had always wanted to play pro football, adding that he didn't want to be 40 years old and wondering if he could have made it in football. In a interview about starting with the NFL, Lesnar made the statement
This is no load of bull; it's no WWE stunt. I am dead serious about this... I ain't afraid of anything, and I ain't afraid of anybody. I've been an underdog in athletics since I was 5. I got zero college offers for wrestling. Now people say I can't play football, that it's a joke. I say I can. I'm as good an athlete as a lot of guys in the NFL, if not better... I've always had to fight for everything. I wasn't the best technician in amateur wrestling. But I was strong, had great conditioning, and a hard head. Nobody could break me. As long as I have that, I don't give a damn what anybody else thinks.
Lesnar played in the Minnesota Vikings, where he created controversy in some games by starting minor fights and getting heat with the Chiefs for a sack on QB Damon Huard, which drew a big response from the crowd of 6,000. Huard was knocked silly, and had to go to the sidelines and sit out a few plays. Giving hard hits to QBs in scrimmages violates an unwritten understanding, and the Chiefs were not too happy with him. His actions got him featured on Sports Center on more than one occasion. After playing in a few pre-season games, Lesnar was eventually cut from the team after not showing up for practices due to a injury sustained by a motorcycle ride during the summer of 2004. He declined to accept an invitation to play as a representative of the Vikings in NFL Europe. He made no attempts to sign with an AFL or CFL team.
Lesnar had previously signed a no-compete clause in order to be released from his contract with WWE, which prohibited him from working for any other sports entertainment or mixed martial arts companies before 2010. Lesnar had anticipated leaving wrestling entirely, but his inability to secure a career in professional football led to him challenging this ruling in court. WWE responded by demanding damages as a result of Lesnar allegedly breaching the agreement by appearing at a New Japan Pro Wrestling show in 2004.
In July 2005, the two sides dropped their claims and entered negotiations to renew their relationship. WWE had offered Brock a contract, but on August 2, 2005, WWE's official website reported that Lesnar had withdrawn from any involvement with the company. The lawsuit was then entered into settlement on September 21, 2005, but talks broke down.
On January 14, 2006, Judge Christopher Droney stated that unless WWE gave him a good argument between then and January 25, 2006, he would rule in favor of Brock Lesnar, giving him a summary judgment. This would have enabled Lesnar to work anywhere he wanted immediately. WWE was later granted a deadline postponement.
On April 25, 2006, World Wrestling Entertainment announced on their official website, WWE.com, that both parties had mutually come to a settlement and on June 12, 2006, a federal judge dismissed Lesnar's lawsuit against WWE after both parties requested for the case to be dismissed.
New Japan Pro Wrestling (2005-2006)
On October 8, 2005, Lesnar won the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship in a three-way match at a New Japan Pro Wrestling show in the Tokyo Dome, which included the then-champion Kazuyuki Fujita and Masahiro Chono. He won the match by pinning Masahiro Chono after an F-5, which he had renamed the Verdict, since WWE owns the trademark on the F-5 name. After the match, he stated that this name was referring to his lawsuit against WWE. The match was his first pro wrestling match since leaving WWE.
On December 6, 2005 WWE filed a motion for a temporary restraining order to prevent Lesnar from continuing to work with NJPW, but the court did not grant it, and thus Lesnar had two non-title victories against Manabu Nakanishi and Yuji Nagata. Lesnar successfully defended his championship on January 4, 2006 against former champion Shinsuke Nakamura.
On January 13, 2006. WWE once again filed an injunction against Lesnar to stop him from defending the IWGP World Heavyweight Championship on March 19, but evidently this was not enforced (nor granted), as he would go on to have both a tag team match with Shinsuke Nakamura against Akebono and Riki Chōshū at the Sumo Hall on February 19, 2006 which was won after a Verdict to Chōshū.
On March 19, 2006 at the Sumo Hall, Lesnar retained his championship against former Sumo Wrestling Grand Champion Akebono when Lesnar hit him with the championship belt and a DDT. Lesnar went on to successfully defended his title against the winner of the New Japan Cup, Giant Bernard, on May 3, 2006 in Fukuoka. This was the first American vs American title match in NJPW since Vader vs Stan Hansen in 1990.
On July 15, 2006, New Japan Pro Wrestling announced that Brock Lesnar had been stripped of the IWGP Heavyweight Championship as he will no longer be returning to defend the title due to "visa issues". A tournament was held on July 16 to determine the new champion, which was won by Hiroshi Tanahashi, the man Lesnar was originally scheduled to face.
K-1 Hero's / Mixed Martial Arts (2006-present)
On April 28, 2006, Brock Lesnar appeared inside the ring after the final match of K-1 Hero's Las Vegas and has since signed a deal with the K-1/Hero's. He is currently training with Minnesota Martial Arts Academy under Greg Nelson coach to UFC Lightweight champion Sean Sherk and with University of Minnesota Head Assistant wrestling coach Marty Morgan. Brock Lesnar announced on August 12, 2006 that he has joined Japan’s K-1 Mixed martial arts promotion and will have his first match in May 19th, 2007 in Las Vegas, Nevada, with Royce Gracie serving him as his trainer.
[5][6][7] It has also recently been reported that Lesnar has been in talks with UFC. So far an opponent for Lesnar´s first match has yet to be announced.
In January 2001, Lesnar was arrested for receiving a "large amount of steroids". The charges were later dropped when police found that the pills were really not steroids.[8]
In May 2001, on a return flight from the United Kingdom, Lesnar got into a shoot fight against Mr. Perfect, who confronted Lesnar over who has the better amateur skills. Lesnar went on to take him down and had to be calmed down by Paul Heyman and Fit Finlay. As a result, Perfect was released from WWE. Perfect was reportedly drunk during the incident.
Lesnar is the first OVW graduate to win a World Championship in WWE.
At the end of a house show in Canada in 2003, Lesnar revealed that he had a surprise for the crowd, Rick Martel, coming out to greet the fans. Martel put Lesnar over as a legitimate star by shaking hands with him.
In 2003 Lesnar was heavily rumored to fight the then reigning boxing champion Lennox Lewis. Marc Ratner, then of the Nevada Athletic Commission, had established rules for a “real” fight. However it was said that Lewis backed out in the last minute.
In 2004 Lesnar appeared on the cover of Flex Magazine[9] featuring Lesnar lifting a 300 lbs (136 kg) dumbell with one arm.
Lesnar has one daughter, Mya Lynn who was born on April 10,2002, with his ex-fiancée, Nicole. He left Nicole in 2003 to begin a relationship with Rena "Sable" Mero. Lesnar and Mero were engaged in 2004, separated in 2005, then reconciled later that year and married on May 62006. Lesnar has 1 step-child with Mero: Mariah, a step-daughter born to Mero and her late husband, Wayne Richardson. They divorced later in August.
Lesnar has numerous tattoos, with the most prominent being a stylized skull in the center of his back and a large sword on his chest, which he received following his debut in New Japan.
The video game Exciting Pro Wrestling 5 is named after Lesnar´s catch phrase (Here Comes The Pain). The name was taken from Tazz, who usually said "Here Comes the Pain" when Lesnar would be entering the ring. Lesnar is also playable in the PS2 version of the video game Wrestle Kingdom in his New Japan look.
